Economic Conditions, Employment, and Urban Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Event-History Analysis of Male and Female Fertility in Kinshasa, Dakar, and Accra

Felly Kinziunga Lukumu , Université Catholique de Louvain
Bruno D. Schoumaker, Université Catholique de Louvain

Based on biographical data collected in 2008 in Dakar and 2009 in Accra and Kinshasa, this article examines the influences of labor market on urban fertility over the past thirty years. This work shows that in all three cities, parenthood entry is delayed from one generation to another, while the labor market evolves differently from one city to another. The influence of getting the first paid job on the birth of the first child remains marginal. The need to have a first child seems to outweigh any economic constraints associated with the individual's economic status or the child's costs.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 141. Men’s Fertility, Family Planning, and Sexual and Reproductive Health